The N.F.L.’s 32 teams are some of the most valuable assets in sports, and they rarely change hands.
Yet just two days after the Carolina Panthers said they would investigate their owner, who was accused of what the team called “workplace misconduct,” an N.F.L. franchise — one of the most coveted businesses in the world — will be put on the open market by its longtime owner, Jerry Richardson. The only principal owner the team has ever had, Richardson has become the latest formidable figure to fall amid the rising sensitivity and anger around sexual harassment.
In recent months, accusations of sexual harassment have taken down titans in Hollywood and the media world, politicians in Washington, as well as celebrity restaurateurs. The issue finally arrived at the N.F.L.’s doorstep last week when a former wardrobe stylist for NFL Network leveled accusations of sexual harassment and sexual assault, leading to the suspension of six employees.
Then on Friday, the Panthers said they had hired lawyers to look into accusations against Richardson, the team’s founding owner. On Sunday, the N.F.L. said it would take over the investigation. Hours later, Richardson announced he would sell the team in yet another scandal for the league amid an already tumultuous season that has included a nationwide debate over players protesting over the national anthem.
In a statement, Richardson said the sales process would commence after the season. He will not entertain any inquiries before the last game has been played. Richardson made no reference to the allegations against him or the league’s investigation into those claims.
Continue reading the main story“I believe that it is time to turn the franchise over to new ownership,” Richardson said.
An N.F.L. spokesman, Joe Lockhart said the league had not decided whether it would drop its investigation.
Still, Richardson’s decision represented a swift fall for a man who at times has been among the N.F.L.’s most powerful owners. At 81, he has controlled the team for nearly a quarter-century, having bought the franchise when it was created in 1993. For years, Richardson held sway over many important committees, and was an influential player in the league’s latest labor deal, which came after the owners locked out the players for several months in 2011. He was also the co-chair of the search committee for a new commissioner, which wound up being Roger Goodell. On Sunday, Richardson spoke with Goodell.
Though he has stepped back from the league’s affairs in recent years, partly because of a series of health issues, Richardson continues to have many allies among his fellow owners, and he is the only current owner who also played in the N.F.L. He spent the 1959 and 1960 seasons with the Baltimore Colts.
The allegations against Richardson came as the league, like so many other businesses, has faced accusations of sexual harassment in its midst. Five former N.F.L. players were among the six employees suspended by NFL Network.
Richardson’s departure was startling because he is the face of the Panthers organization, and because N.F.L. teams are the ultimate buy-and-hold asset in sports. He had previously said that the team would be sold when he died. Now, he will oversee that sale once the season ends.
“In some ways, it’s a passing of the torch,” said Marc Ganis, a sports consultant and a longtime adviser to Richardson. “There’s an inevitability to some of it. But this is not a happy way for it to happen.”
Several of Richardson’s employees came to his defense on Sunday. The Panthers’ interim general manager, Marty Hurney, who returned to the team in July after a five-year absence, said he had never seen Richardson commit any sexual or racial misconduct in the office.
“I came back because of the respect I have for him and for the organization he started and developed,” he told the Associated Press.
Panthers quarterback Cam Newton said that Richardson had been a father figure to him during his years in Charlotte.
“For me, I hope things don’t alter my thinking of Mr. Richardson,” Newton said after the Panthers beat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. “But I do know that he has given me some things that I will forever be appreciative of.”
Richardson’s decision is the latest shake-up to roil the organization this year. The team president, Danny Morrison, left the team in February. This summer, Richardson fired General Manager Dave Gettleman just before training camp and brought in Hurney.
And in October, Newton drew criticism for saying it was “funny to hear a female talk about routes” after a female reporter asked him a question at a news conference. But despite the turnover and potential distractions, the Panthers are 10-4 and appear to be headed to the playoffs again.
The sale of the Panthers will be the first of an N.F.L. team since 2014. The Buffalo Bills were the last team to be sold, after their founding owner, Ralph Wilson died. The team went for a $1.4 billion, a record at the time for an N.F.L. team.
The Panthers are likely to sell for far more. The team owns its own stadium, has been more successful on the field, has a dynamic quarterback in his prime in Newton, and plays in a larger and faster-growing market. The league has also grown significantly since 2014. According to Forbes, the Panthers are worth $2.3 billion.
By offering to sell the team, Richardson has saved the N.F.L. from a potential confrontation and an investigation that could have damaged the league’s image at a time of heightened anger over sexual harassment. Under the league’s constitution, owners can lose their clubs for acts “detrimental to the league.” Still, it’s somewhat surprising that the N.F.L. — known for its deliberate approach to any major change — and Richardson reacted so quickly and so dramatically to allegations of workplace misconduct.
Just three years ago, the league strengthened its personal conduct policy to include not just players, but all league personnel. That decision was made after several star players were charged with domestic violence.
Richardson’s impending sale brings to mind the furor over the Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who was recorded on tape making racist remarks.
In April 2014, N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver permanently barred Sterling, who reluctantly went along with the sale of the club for $2 billion to the Microsoft magnate Steve Ballmer.
Other owners have given up their teams amid controversy. Nearly 20 years ago, the San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo pleaded guilty to felony charges stemming from a corruption case involving Eddie Edwards, the former Louisiana governor.
The N.F.L. fined DeBartolo, who was also barred from actively controlling the 49ers for a year. Rather than return to the league, DeBartolo ceded control of the team to his sister, Denise York.
DeBartolo was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
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